The end of natural disasters: the daily life of child brides in ancient times

West of Dongyuan City.

The leader of the powerful gang was frantic with worry.

They attacked nearly two hundred people in the bank; they went out last night and haven't returned yet.

When he arrived in the morning, there were only twenty or thirty people left in the bank.

After asking around, he learned that the murderer who killed his brother-in-law had been found last night.

The second brother led his men out to retrieve the person!

But he hasn't come back yet; I'm afraid something must have happened to him.

Thinking about this, he felt very remorseful.

Last night, he was entertaining distinguished guests at Jufangzhai when his subordinates came in to remind him.

Seeing that the distinguished guest was getting impatient, he ignored him and simply kicked him out.

I never expected it to be like this.

However, most of the people who were fighting last night were taken away by the second brother.

The rest is simply said to be about the discovery of outsiders at an inn in the north of the city.

But I don't know which inn it was.

There was no other way, so he could only send the remaining twenty or thirty men to search in the north of the city.

Even in broad daylight, in the slums of the north of the city, one cannot be too conspicuous.

Even the most impatient leader of the powerful gang could only wait patiently.

After searching all morning, around lunchtime, one of my men came to deliver the vegetables.

But they found that he had developed blisters in his mouth from anxiety.

It was at this moment that someone rushed back to report.

"Boss, we found an inn in the north of the city."

There were many bloodstains on the ground in the backyard of the inn.

However, no body was found inside.

Upon hearing this, the imposing leader of the gang stood up abruptly.

"What inn?"

Besides the bloodstains in the backyard, what else is unusual?

When the man who came to report saw how anxious he was, he immediately told him everything he had discovered.

"Boss, besides the bloodstains, there are several large holes in the inn's door."

The tables, chairs, and other items in the room were all smashed and broken.

In addition, a large amount of blood that had not been cleaned up was found under the wooden planks of the stairs.

We suspect a large-scale brawl took place at that inn!

Upon hearing this, the leader of the powerful gang got up and walked outside.

"It must be that place! Let's go check it out right away!"

I rushed over and checked, and confirmed that it was indeed that place.

Strangely, they searched the area within a five-kilometer radius but found no body.

The leader of the powerful gang sent people to investigate the surrounding area and found out about the family that owned the oil mill.

After learning that the second brother had indeed led a group to attack the inn that night, they found the inn's old manager.

Their men searched the dilapidated thatched hut thoroughly.

Apart from the little bit of food the old shopkeeper originally had left, nothing else was found.

The old shopkeeper, having lived to this age, naturally knows what's important.

When she was taken to the inn for questioning, she saw the state of the inn and acted as if she had just found out, almost fainting from crying.

The grandson, unaware of what had happened, cried his heart out alongside his grandfather when he saw the house had been vandalized.

Seeing this, the leader of the gang no longer suspected the two, but he did not release them either.

He sent someone to keep an eye on the inn while he turned around and asked a benefactor for help.

However, the nobleman's attitude changed immediately after he learned that more than two hundred of their men had disappeared.

That afternoon, the leader of the second largest gang in Dongyuan City appeared at the nobleman's mansion.

The territory of the powerful and influential were quickly encroached upon.

They only lasted two days before completely disbanding.

As for the leader of the powerful gang, he was murdered the following night.

Thus, the once invincible and powerful fighting force of Dongyuan City completely disappeared.

The old shopkeeper was also released after being locked up for a day.

After returning to the dilapidated thatched hut with his grandson, the old shopkeeper was still somewhat shaken.

On the third day, he went outside and heard that the leader of the powerful gang had died.

He suppressed his excitement, returned home, and locked the gate to his yard.

Finally, they carried out half a bag of grain from the cellar under the water tank.

Thinking of his little grandson's skinny appearance, he took out another piece of silver.

He needs to go to the butcher to buy some big bones and bring them back to make some meat soup for his grandson.

As the old man carried the grain and money out of the kitchen, he was filled with hope for life.

Things will definitely get better!

......

A few days later, it rained continuously.

Lu Qingqing drove the carriage at the very front of the procession.

The novice pulling the cart skillfully avoided the small puddles on the ground.

Behind her, Old Man Zhuang also tugged on the reins, guiding the horse around the bay.

Seeing that the wind was picking up, they quickly pulled the tarpaulin used for rain protection down a bit.

It started raining two days ago and it hasn't stopped.

It's bad enough that it's raining, but to make matters worse, it's also windy.

Even with the carriage covered by a rain shelter, the wind still blew in the rain at an angle.

As the old saying goes, "A spring rain brings warmth."

But they hadn't taken off their cotton-padded coats yet.

The rain soaked my cotton-padded coat, making it very uncomfortable to wear.

Those families with horse-drawn carriages were better off; at least they had a rain shelter to keep out the rain.

Those who travel by pushing wheelbarrows or carts, even if they wear oilcloth or raincoats, cannot avoid getting their clothes wet.

Pushing a cart along the way is already tiring enough.

My clothes were soaking wet, and that discomfort was truly agonizing.

But when it's going to rain, there's nothing anyone can do about it.

They could only hope that the rain would stop soon.

It's been several days since we left Dongyuan City.

The group followed the pre-arranged route, first heading north to avoid the mountains, and then east along the official road.

The roads here are fairly flat and wide; if it weren't for the rain, we could have traveled even faster.

During the trip, we also encountered two villages.

However, for some unknown reason, the village has long been abandoned.

The group searched the village thoroughly and managed to find some tools that could be used to shelter from the rain.

The raincoats worn by the women and soldiers in the East Courtyard were woven from thatch from the village.

Although it's not as effective as a proper raincoat made from palm bark, it still serves some purpose.

Lu Qingqing drove the carriage a little further and saw a grove of trees to her right, so she drove the carriage towards it.

Behind them, many people also spotted the grove of trees and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

By now, it was past noon.

I'm really exhausted after walking all morning.

Having finally found a place that could barely provide shelter from the rain, everyone wanted to stop and rest.

At the front of the line, Lu Qingqing was just about to urge the car to turn downhill when she noticed several tire tracks on the ground.

Judging from the marks, they look like carriage tracks.

Immediately, he became alert.

Right now, the drizzle is falling heavily, making it impossible to see the situation in the woods ahead.

As a precaution, she first stopped the group.